How to Become an Organ Donor in New Mexico

Hundreds of New Mexico residents are currently waiting for donated organs. (See New Mexico’s waiting list for precise numbers.) To be part of the solution to the ongoing need for donated organs and tissues, take the following steps to become a donor after your death.

1. Sign Up at the New Mexico Organ Donor Registry

To confirm your intention to be an organ donor, begin by registering with the state organ donor database at Donate Life New Mexico. It takes just a few minutes to register online. After your death, medical personnel will search the state donor registry and easily locate your wish to be a donor.

2. Use Your New Mexico Driver’s License to Show You Are an Organ Donor

When you get a new driver’s license in New Mexico, you will be asked whether you would like to be an organ and tissue donor. If you say yes, the word “DONOR” will appear on the front of your license, along with a red heart.

3. Include Organ Donation in Your Advance Health Care Directive

In addition to signing up with the New Mexico organ donor registry and using your driver’s license to indicate that you want to be an organ donor, it’s a good idea to include your desire to donate in your important estate planning documents, especially your advance health care directive. (It’s not always helpful to include your organ donation wishes in your will, because it may not be found and read until it is too late to donate.) Covering these bases helps to ensure that your wishes will be known and followed.

4. Tell Others That You Are an Organ Donor

If you’ve documented your wishes to be an organ and tissue donor, your wishes must be honored whether or not others agree with your choice. (New Mexico Statutes § 24-6B-8.) Nevertheless, to avoid confusion or delays, it’s important to tell others that you feel strongly about donating your organs. Consider discussing the matter with family members, your health care providers, your clergyperson if you have one, and close friends.

If you don’t document your intention to be an organ donor, these conversations are critical, because your next of kin will make the decision about whether or not to donate your organs. (See below.)

How to Donate Your Whole Body in New Mexico

Many medical schools and other institutions seek donations of whole bodies for research and instruction. You can make arrangements to donate your body to science by directly contacting an interested medical school or whole body donation organization.

If You Don’t Want to Be an Organ Donor in New Mexico

If for any reason you feel strongly that you do not want to be an organ donor, you should put those wishes in writing. If you don’t, your family members may consent to the donation of your organs after your death.

Write down your instructions in a signed, dated document -- perhaps in your advance directive -- and be sure your family and health care providers know that you choose not to be an organ donor. If they know of your wishes, they are legally barred from donating any part of your body. (New Mexico Statutes § 24-6B-7.)

If You Don’t Make the Decision, Who Will?

If you don’t leave instructions about organ donation, New Mexico law decides who will make the decision for you after your death. When a minor dies, the right to decide about organ donation goes to the child’s parents. For adults, the right goes to the following people, in order:

your health care agent, if you appointed one, unless the appointing document explicitly withholds this power

your spouse, unless you are legally separated or divorce proceedings are pending

your adult children

your parents

your adult siblings

your adult grandchildren

your grandparents

an adult who exhibited special care and concern for you

the people who was acting as your “guardians of the person” at the time of your death, or

any other person who has the authority to handle the disposition of your body.

If you have any concerns that the right to make decisions about donating your organs would go to a person other than the one you would choose, don’t procrastinate: Take the time to document your own decision about organ donation.

For More Information

To learn more about organ donation, see the website of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at OrganDonor.gov.